Emergency Flood Response Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8071 To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish an emergency flood activity pilot program to assist flood response efforts in response to a levee failure or potential levee failure, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 18, 2020 Mr. MCNERNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency to establish an emergency flood activity pilot program to assist flood response efforts in response to a levee failure or potential levee failure, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Flood Re- 4 sponse Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8071.IH H8071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8071 IH SEC. 2. EMERGENCY FLOOD ACTIVITY PILOT PROGRAM. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 18 months 2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 3 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall es- 4 tablish and carry out a pilot program to assist flood re- 5 sponse efforts at State and Federal regional levels in re- 6 sponse to a levee failure or potential levee failure. 7 (b) GRANTS.—In carrying out the pilot program es- 8 tablished under subsection (a), the Administrator may 9 award grants to not more than 10 eligible entities to— 10 (1) establish or maintain a flood emergency 11 fund to be used for emergency flood activities de- 12 scribed in subsection (f); and 13 (2) ensure a unified command system organiza- 14 tional framework for such activities. 15 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 16 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 17 Administrator an application at such time, in such man- 18 ner, and containing such information as the Administrator 19 may require, including the following: 20 (1) A plan describing the emergency flood ac- 21 tivities for which the funds may be used as well as 22 the levee safety plan that contains the unified com- 23 mand system that would carry out such activities. 24 (2) A scope of work and tasks, project timeline, 25 budget, and ongoing post-grant management plan. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8071.IH H8071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8071 IH (3) Information regarding what entity main- 1 tains the flood emergency fund. 2 (4) A description of non-Federal contributions 3 to the flood emergency fund. 4 (5) A description of how such plan will benefit 5 the community, environment, and economy of the 6 participating region within the legal boundaries of 7 the applicant. 8 (6) Mechanisms for long-term replenishment of 9 the flood emergency fund and a description of what 10 percentage of the fund will be used— 11 (A) to support ongoing administrative 12 project maintenance; and 13 (B) for the unified command system that 14 would use and apply the fund in a flood emer- 15 gency or post-flood recovery. 16 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 17 under this section, an eligible entity, in cooperation with 18 appropriate local, State, and Federal agencies, shall estab- 19 lish criteria and procedures for use of the entity’s flood 20 emergency fund in a flood emergency. 21 (e) SELECTION.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 23 award grants under subsection (b) on a competitive 24 basis. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8071.IH H8071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8071 IH (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under sub- 1 section (b), the Administrator shall prioritize appli- 2 cations— 3 (A) from eligible entities that represent a 4 geographically diverse cross-section of the 5 United States; 6 (B) that include opportunities to build on 7 existing Federal and non-Federal flood relief ef- 8 forts; 9 (C) from eligible entities that have a flood 10 safety plan approved by a levee maintaining 11 agency; and 12 (D) from eligible entities that have a local 13 mitigation plan regarding hazard mitigation ap- 14 proved by the Federal Emergency Management 15 Agency. 16 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds awarded under this 18 section may be used in the case of a flood for emer- 19 gency flood activities, including planning and pre- 20 paring to perform emergency flood activities, and to 21 support ongoing administrative project maintenance. 22 Emergency flood activities include prompt emer- 23 gency action to— 24 (A) prevent levee failure; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8071.IH H8071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8071 IH (B) close levee breaks; 1 (C) make relief cuts and dewater flooded 2 areas; and 3 (D) otherwise physically limit the extent, 4 depth, and duration of flood waters in the event 5 of a levee failure. 6 (2) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Funds 7 awarded under this section may not be used if— 8 (A) the emergency flood activity is required 9 by law to be performed by the Corps of Engi- 10 neers; and 11 (B) the Corps of Engineers immediately 12 exercises its authority to perform such activity. 13 (3) ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES.—The Adminis- 14 trator, in consultation with the Corps of Engineers, 15 shall establish any additional guidelines for the use 16 of funds awarded under this section. 17 (g) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENDITURES.—As a con- 18 dition of a grant awarded to an eligible entity under sub- 19 section (b), the Administrator shall ensure that, following 20 an expenditure of funds from the entity’s flood emergency 21 fund, the entity will— 22 (1) seek all available State and Federal disaster 23 assistance reimbursements for such expenditures; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8071.IH H8071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8071 IH (2) deposit the reimbursements in the flood 1 emergency fund. 2 (h) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 3 of a flood emergency activity carried out using grant funds 4 made available under this section may not exceed 50 per- 5 cent of the cost of such activity. 6 (i) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Adminis- 7 trator shall submit to Congress an annual report on the 8 progress and outcomes of the pilot program established 9 under this section. 10 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 12 ty’’ means a State local levee maintaining agency or 13 unit of local government that— 14 (A) is responsible for emergency flood re- 15 sponse efforts; and 16 (B) maintains and operates a flood emer- 17 gency fund. 18 (2) FLOOD EMERGENCY FUND.—The term 19 ‘‘flood emergency fund’’ means a fund established, 20 maintained, and operated by a levee maintaining 21 agency or a local designated coordinating agency, in- 22 cluding the maintenance of the accounting of all 23 Federal and non-Federal funds and derivation of 24 such funds. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8071.IH H8071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8071 IH (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 1 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 2 $50,000,000 to remain available until expended. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8071.IH H8071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS